


We Were Just Kids...

by Anonymous



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 20:09:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12778575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: What if we had different lives, but we were still the same people? What if our families and the people around us remained the same, but everything else was different?A modern AU, where Reiner, Bertholdt, and Krista are children (to start). Titans don't exist, but that doesn't mean there are no monsters.Trigger warnings: implied domestic violence, neglect, and terrible parenting in general...But don't fear - It's not all sad... and will be more cute fluff than anything else.





	1. Chocolate

Stories are nice. Children are happy in the stories. People care for one another, and nobody feels lonely for long.  It's too bad life isn't always like it is in the stories. 

"KRISTA!!"  

Krista looked up from her book and noticed it was beginning to get dark. She had been squinting at the page and didn't realize it. She had gotten comfortable in her little spot again, nestled away in the huge roots of the tree behind her house. Time seemed to fly when she could bury herself in a book. She loved to read about the fantastical adventures of other children, about the joy other children had in their lives. She had only learned to read a couple of years ago, and since then she had been incapable of going a whole day without her nose in a book. Reading was such a freeing experience.  

"KRIISTAA!!" her grandpa's voice called again, impatient. She tucked her book under her arm and started to walk toward her house.  

"I'm here," Krista spoke quietly as she walked in through the back door, and entered the kitchen.  

The house smelled like cigarettes. She hated the smell. That was probably why she spent so much time outside, buried in her books. She liked being at school too, where she could learn and be around people who were nice to her.  She never got to see any of her friends outside of school, and she longed for it during the summer months. In the summer, the characters in her books were the only friends she had. 

"Where have you been?" her grandpa asked.  It wasn't a real question, she knew. He didn't wait for her to answer. "We need to you to go to the store. It's going to close soon."  

"By myself?" Krista was only seven. She walked to the library by herself often, but it was far closer than the store. She only ever walked there with her grandparents, whenever they needed to buy a lot and wanted an extra set of hands to carry it all home. It wasn't  _that_ far, but going alone frightened her. It was almost dark, after all. 

"You know the way, don't you?"  

"I think so," she muttered, too hesitant to displease her grandfather to object in any way. 

"I knew you were smart enough to handle it!" He grinned at her and patted her on the head. 

Krista was gleeful that he called her smart. It was the nicest thing she could hope to hear from anyone in this house. She thought it was strange that all of the characters in her books were surrounded by people who were kind, and who took care of them. That was so unrealistic to her. Life wasn't like that. She had to take care of herself. She took the twenty-dollar bill her grandpa gave her, and walked out the front door.  

In her books, the adults would always call after the children, telling them to be careful – or not to stay out too late. She knew better than to expect that. That was just in the books, and her life was not like the lives of those imaginary children she read about. At least her grandpa thought she was smart. That was  _something_.  

 

* * *

 

"You can each pick one piece of candy while I wait in line to pay for gas," Mrs. Nora Hoover smiled as the two boys with her darted through the aisles of the gas station.  

She was glad that her Bertholdt had found such a good friend in Reiner. She worried about her son sometimes. He wasn't particularly outgoing, and had a difficult time making new friends. He was just like his father. She had been so relieved when Bertholdt came home from school one day about a month into Kindergarten, talking nonstop about the boy he had started referring to as his "best friend ever". It had been three years since then, and the two had become inseparable. Reiner stayed over at their house often, and she loved to spoil the boy however she could. He had become a second son to her, and she loved him like one.  

She did  _not_ love having to take him home. As she had gotten to know Reiner over the years, she slowly gained some insight into what life was like at the Braun house – and it made her stomach twist into knots when she thought about it. The least she could do was send him home with some candy. Reiner deserved so much more than candy. He was such a kind, good-natured boy. 

In no time at all, they both came running back with their selections. They had both opted for chocolate,  _of course._  

Mrs. Hoover paid the clerk for her gas and for the two candy bars, and ushered the boys back outside to the car. Reiner had slept over at the Hoovers' the previous night, and had stayed most of that day. It was getting pretty dark, and so it was time to take him home. She didn't want to get him into any trouble with his dad.  

 

Reiner's house was only a short drive from where they had stopped to get gas. During the first couple minutes in the car, Bertholdt enthusiastically devoured his chocolate bar. Mrs. Hoover glanced at her son in the rear-view mirror and allowed herself to giggle at the chocolatey mess his face had become.  

"Bertholdt Samuel Hoover," she smirked as she pretended to scold him.  "You are too old to be making such a mess of your face like that."  

Bertholdt responded by rubbing his hands all over his face, trying to wipe away the chocolate that marred his mouth and cheeks. He was only somewhat successful. 

Reiner's face was clean.  

"Did you already eat yours too, Reiner? Maybe you can teach Bertholdt how to eat chocolate without making such a mess."  

"Nope! I've still got mine!" he grinned back at her through the rear-view mirror. "I'm saving it for later!" He looked happy. She was glad for that. 

Her thoughts were interrupted as she noticed a small girl on the side of the road, walking by herself.  

"What is she doing?" Mrs. Hoover mumbled to herself. She slowed down and considered turning around to ask if the girl was okay, but before she could, the girl turned and walked into the convenience store they had just driven past.  

"Do you two know that girl?" She turned her head for a moment to ask the boys. The girl looked like she was about their age... maybe younger. She felt such anger at the thought of parents who let their children wander around at night by themselves –  _young children... especially little girls._ Some people, she decided, should  _never_ become parents. 

"What girl?" Bertholdt asked. He hadn't been paying attention. Reiner had seen her though. 

"I don't know her... but I think I've seen her at school. She's a grade below us I think..."  

Mrs. Hoover hoped the girl lived somewhere close, and wasn't walking very far in the dark. She considered driving back to that convenience store to follow the girl home and make sure she arrived safely.  She needed to get Reiner home first. 

 

* * *

 

It was almost completely dark when the car stopped in front of the Braun residence.  

"Thank you for everything Mrs. Hoover!" Reiner yelled as he climbed out of the backseat of the car, and grabbed his backpack from the floor.  

"You're always welcome, Reiner!" She smiled warmly at him before he shut the car door behind him. She watched as he climbed the steps leading up to his front door, and disappeared into the house.  

She sighed before putting the car into drive and slowly accelerated down the street. She hated the feeling she got every time she dropped him off at home. She just kept telling herself that it wasn't her business – that she shouldn't interfere. He was resilient. He would be fine. He  _had to_ be fine. 

Mrs. Hoover looked for the little girl when she drove past the convenience store on their way back home, but she didn't see her again that night.  

 

* * *

 

Reiner walked in the front door of his house and was greeted by the sound of the television.  Standing in the hall, Reiner peered into the living room, where he knew one or both of his parents would be sitting. His dad was sitting in his armchair, like always. He seemed to be completely engrossed in whatever he was watching on tv and didn't notice Reiner come in.  

Reiner quickly counted the number of cans on the table in front of his dad, and decided right away that it was too many. He would avoid his father if possible.  

Making his way to his bedroom, Reiner heard someone in the kitchen. He dropped his bag in the hallway and walked in to greet his mother.  

"Reiner, you're home!" he squeezed his mother around the waist as she hugged him.  

"Did you have fun at Bert's?" she asked, smiling down at him.  

"I did!" he grinned and nodded eagerly.  

"KARINA!!!" Reiner's dad had shouted from two rooms over, but the booming sound of it still made him wince. 

"I told your dad I would make him something to eat," she spoke in a hushed, almost fearful voice, and paused. "Are you hungry?" 

"No, I ate at Bert's..." He considered his words before continuing. "I don't want to be around dad when he's had so much to drink anyway..." 

"Reiner, he's your father..." she looked sad. "...I guess I understand. You're free to go." She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, and sent him off.  

Reiner picked up his bag from where he dropped it in the hallway and went to his room.  

He was surprised at how little time had passed before the shouting started. He knew it was coming, it always came when his dad had been drinking. Tonight, he had had more than usual. Perhaps he had come home during only a brief moment of peace in the house.  

Reiner tried to tune out the sound of his dad shouting at his mother. He hoped it would only be shouting tonight. It only took a few minutes for him to realize it wouldn't be.  

He never understood what his parents argued about, and part of him thought they both liked to argue.  All it took was the tiniest offense, and it would happen all over again. It was when things escalated beyond  _just a_ _rguing_ that Reiner needed to escape.  

Reiner opened his window, and stuck his legs out first. He slowly lowered himself into the bushes outside his room. He was pretty confident neither of his parents would be checking on him tonight.  

As he walked down the street, he wondered sadly if his parents had ever loved each other. Maybe someday things would be better. 

 

Reiner had only been walking for a few minutes when he saw someone else walking, coming toward him but on the opposite side of the street. It was the girl from before, the one who was walking to the store all by herself. As she got closer, Reiner realized how much stuff she was carrying. She had a gallon of milk and a couple of bags that looked heavy.   

His suspicions about the weight of what she carried were confirmed as the handles of one of her bags snapped.  He watched the girl become frustrated as the contents of the bag spilled all over the sidewalk and grass. Reiner ran across the street to where she was standing.  She looked like she could use some help. 

"Are you okay?" he asked, as she got down on her hands and knees and tried to pick up everything that had fallen. It was mostly potatoes, he noted.  _Who sends a little girl to the store alone and expects her to carry home_ _a_ _heavy_ _bag_ _of potatoes?_  

"I'm fine," she muttered, flustered.  

Reiner got down on the ground next to her and helped her pick up everything that had fallen. They put it all into the broken bag. The girl looked like she was going to pick up the bag from the edges, but Reiner stopped her.  

"It will tear again," he told her. "It's too heavy." 

"I know..."  

"Let me help you carry it," he suggested. "You've already got a lot of other stuff to carry."  

"Okay," she didn't meet his eyes, and looked ashamed.  

Reiner picked up the broken bag, and held it from the bottom. He helped his mom with groceries all the time, and knew how to hold a torn plastic bag so that it wouldn't tear any worse.  

"Do you live close?" He asked, as the two of them started walking down the street, in the direction she had been heading.  

"Yeah... only five....or six more blocks..." she stared at the ground as she walked.  

"That's not so bad... " Reiner tried to sound encouraging. This girl did not look happy. He couldn't blame her. It didn't seem like she was having a very good night. 

As they walked past Reiner's house, he tried to ignore the shouting that could easily be heard from across the street.  The girl he walked with may not have been having a good night, but neither was he. He hated coming home. He wished he could live with Bertholdt and his family.  

"I wonder what they're yelling about," the girl said, as if she was talking to herself.  

Reiner hesitated before responding. "That’s... my house...." Reiner told her softly, embarrassed.  

"Oh..." She paused. "I'm sorry..." 

 After a few minutes of silence between them, they had walked far enough that Reiner could no longer hear the horrible names his father called his mother.  

"I'm Reiner," he told her, breaking the silence. 

"Oh..." she said again, and then she looked at him. "I'm Krista." 

 

* * *

 

Krista didn't want to admit it, but she was thankful for this boy who had come to help her – thankful for Reiner. She had lost all feeling in her arms by the time the handle of her bag snapped. She had panicked then, not knowing how she was going to get all of her stuff home. Lucky for her, she didn't have to do it alone.  

"This is my house," Krista said, stopping in front of the home where she lived with her mother and grandparents. There was an unfamiliar car in the driveway. She wondered who her mother had brought home this time. 

The two of them walked up the steps to her front door before Krista held a hand up, indicating for Reiner to stop.  

"I can bring it all in," she said and then looked at him. "You can set that down over here," she gestured toward the bench on her porch. "Thank you for your help, Reiner."  

"No problem," he told her, as he walked toward the bench and set down the bag of potatoes.  

 

* * *

 

When Krista entered her house, she was surprised by the smell of food. Had they already cooked dinner? She heard multiple voices coming from the dining room at the back of the house: her grandmother, her mother, and an unknown man's voice. 

Her grandpa was in the kitchen, and was the only one to greet her, rubbing her head. "Good job, Krista. I knew you could do it!" 

"I thought I went to the store for food for dinner tonight?" She was perplexed. It didn't make sense. 

"No, that's for tomorrow now. Your mother came home and brought dinner for all of us."  

"Oh..." she said, betraying no emotion, despite the frustration she felt. "I am really hungry after all that walking." 

Krista realized her mother had probably driven right past her as she walked. She thought maybe she hadn't seen her... but really, Krista knew that her mother wouldn't have stopped to help, even if she  _had_ seen her. 

"Oh sweetheart," her grandpa said. "We only have four spots at the table. You can wait a little while for dinner, right?" 

"Sure," she replied meekly. "I left one more bag outside anyway... let me go get it."  

She brought in the bag of potatoes that Reiner had carried for her, and set them on the counter. This was a disappointment. She had been excited to sit down and have a nice big meal. She thought she had earned it.  

Krista had been expecting this though, when she saw the car in the driveway. She knew her mother hated having her nearby when she brought men over to the house. The men were usually surprised when they found out she had a daughter. Her mother  _hated_ them finding out. Krista was a secret – a girl who shouldn't have existed to begin with.  _T_ _hat's what her mother told her, anyway._  

Krista considered going to bed, but she wasn't tired. Instead, she went back outside. She ran out the front door and down the steps until she reached the sidewalk. She hoped Reiner hadn't already gone home.  

 

* * *

 

Reiner took his time. He was in no rush to go back to his house. He had only walked a few blocks when he heard Krista calling his name. He turned around to find her running toward him. He stopped, and it didn't take her long to reach him. When she did, she had to stop to catch her breath.  

"I thought you were going to eat dinner?" he asked, looking down at her as she panted. 

"Not anymore, I guess." she sighed. 

Reiner couldn't help but notice that she seemed a little sadder now than she had been before he left.  

"Aren't you hungry?"  

"Yeah... but it's okay..." There was that sadness in her voice again.  

"No, here..." Reiner reached into the pocket of his shorts and pulled out the candy bar that Mrs. Hoover had bought for him earlier. "I was saving this... I'm sorry it's a little melted."  

He unwrapped the chocolate. It hadn't melted completely... It was only a little bit soft. He broke it in half as best he could, and handed the larger piece to Krista.  

"Thank you, Reiner." She said softly as she accepted her half.  

"Anytime," he smiled at her. "Adults can be kind of a letdown..." 

"Yeah," she replied. "They can." 

The two of them sat down on the curb under a streetlamp, and enjoyed the chocolate together. 

 

* * *

 

Krista was content. She had made a new friend, and he was sharing his candy bar with her. This was  _exactly_ like something that would happen in one of her stories. She didn't feel lonely at all in that moment.  

 


	2. Girlfriend?

"Boys! Wake up! You can't sleep all day!" Mrs. Nora Hoover called up the stairs for Bertholdt and Reiner. They had stayed up too late the night before, probably playing video games. They always stayed up late when Reiner spent the night. It was almost noon though, and time for them to get up and start the day. 

Jim was making breakfast – again. The two of them had eaten hours earlier, but her husband never said no to an opportunity to make more breakfast food. It was his favorite, and he loved the way the house smelled while it cooked. The boys would want a real breakfast, he insisted. The time of day didn't matter. This was especially true on the weekends, when he didn't have to worry about work. 

Nora heard footsteps from the floor above her, and took that to mean that the boys were finally starting to stir. She walked across the kitchen to stand beside her husband as he turned the bacon in one pan, and scrambled some eggs in the other. 

"I think we do okay," Nora sighed to her husband, hugging him from behind. He was right – breakfast food smelled great. 

"Of course we do," he replied affectionately. She couldn't see his face, but she knew he was smiling. Bertholdt had inherited his father's kind smile, in addition to his shy demeanor. 

"I wish we could do more..." Nora was thinking about Reiner again, and the little blonde girl she had seen walking alone a few nights prior. "Some parents are so horrible." 

"We can't possibly help them all," he comforted her, pausing from his cooking to hold her hand for a moment. "All we can do is give our own son the best life we possibly can... and do the same for his friends whenever possible." 

"I know..." Nora replied softly. Jim was right, she knew. He was the more rational of the two of them, less fueled by his emotions. Seeing children mistreated just broke her heart, though. 

"Are you thinking about that little girl again?" he asked. She had told him about the little girl on the side of the road as soon as she got home with Bertholdt a few nights ago. The sight had left an impression on her, and she had thought about the unknown little girl many times in the days that had passed. 

"I'm sure she made it home... at least I hope she did," Nora sighed as the two eight-year-old boys came into the kitchen. They both looked like tired zombies, with disheveled hair and eyes sunken into their skulls. 

"You hope who made it home?" Bertholdt asked curiously, as he walked across the room and rubbed his eyes sleepily. Reiner was right on his heels, looking only slightly more alert than his friend. 

"We were just talking about that girl we saw the other night," Nora told her son. "The one who was walking all alone." 

"Oh, don't worry about her," Reiner said, and yawned. "Krista made it home safe." 

"What?" Nora asked, perplexed. The other night he hadn't even known the girl's name. "How do you know, Reiner?" 

Reiner sat down at the table while Bertholdt walked to the fridge and took out the jug of orange juice. He walked back to the counter and stood up on his tip-toes to pull two glasses from the cabinet. He was growing fast. Last year he hadn't been able to reach the cabinet at all. He was going to be tall, like his father. 

"Krista made it home safe," Reiner repeated. "We hung out that night. We're friends now." 

Nora was sure she had seen Reiner go into his house that night, after dropping him off. Her heart sank with the realization that he must have snuck out again, after she left. She knew about his little habit of leaving his house in secret. He had told Bertholdt about it. Bertholdt was not great at keeping secrets from his mother – especially secrets he thought were harmless. Reiner had told him it was because sometimes he just hated being at home, and didn't give any further details. Nora had a pretty good idea of what went on in that house, and she couldn't really blame Reiner for wanting to leave sometimes. He stayed out of trouble, so she saw little harm in his late-night wanderings. It wasn't as if the alternative made her feel any better. She would worry about him either way –whether he was wandering the streets at night or staying in that house when things got bad. 

Bertholdt joined Reiner at the dining table, and put a glass of orange juice in front of his friend. 

"Thanks Bert!" Reiner said happily, taking a big gulp from the glass. 

"Krista, huh?" Nora couldn't help but smile at Reiner. 

"Yup! That's her name. Krista Lenz," Reiner said, like it was no big deal. "She lives pretty close to me. It's not a long walk." 

Breakfast was done, so Jim loaded up a plate for each of the boys and brought them over to the table. Reiner and Bertholdt immediately began digging in ravenously. Boys their age seemed to always be hungry. They were bottomless pits where food just seemed to disappear. Nora imagined them both being big and tall someday, and the picture in her head gave her a wide grin. She was certain they would still be friends as adults. 

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend," Bertholdt said to Reiner between bites, teasing him. 

"What?! She's not my girlfriend!" Reiner protested, blushing. 

Nora and Jim exchanged knowing glances, and smiled at each other. 

"She's a girl," Bertholdt stated, and took another bite of his food. He didn't swallow before speaking again. "And she's your friend... so she's your girlfriend." He looked so proud of himself for drawing that conclusion. He didn't seem to notice how difficult his words were to understand, because of the food still occupying his mouth. 

"Don't speak with your mouth full of food, Bertholdt," Nora reminded him gently. 

"I knowwww," he grumbled, and petulantly rolled his eyes at his mother. 

 

___ 

 

What?! A girlfriend?! 

Reiner dropped his fork and gaped at Mrs. Hoover with wide, confused eyes. "Do I have a girlfriend???" 

Mr. and Mrs. Hoover both burst into wild laughter, while Reiner felt his face become hot. 

Reiner hadn't thought of Krista as his girlfriend. They had only known each other for a few days! He liked her though, and he thought she was really nice. 

"No, Reiner," Mrs. Hoover corrected, after catching her breath. "You can have friends who are girls without them being your girlfriend." 

Reiner let out a giant sigh of relief. They had shared a candy bar, and that was it. He wasn't ready for a girlfriend. He knew that a girlfriend was what came before marriage... and he was eight - definitely not ready for a girlfriend. 

"Maybe someday," Mr. Hoover added, with a wink. "If you're nice to her." 

Reiner thought for a moment and briefly considered what it would be like to marry Krista. They would be kind to one another, not like his parents. They could be happy together, like the Hoovers. It was really nice to imagine. 

He didn't dwell on the thought for very long though, and went back to happily devouring his breakfast.


End file.
